


this is where it stops (this is where it ends)

by voirenrose



Series: borrowed time [1]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Hurt, Hurt/Comfort, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Self Confidence Issues, Self-Doubt, Self-Esteem Issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-03
Updated: 2020-09-03
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:33:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,711
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26261206
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/voirenrose/pseuds/voirenrose
Summary: uhhhhh little hurt/comfort self callout thing woohooand thats on projecting ;)
Relationships: Hop (Pokemon) & Reader
Series: borrowed time [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1907968
Comments: 2
Kudos: 9





	this is where it stops (this is where it ends)

you see him at midnight, sitting on the edge of the wall and staring out across the water. it’s warm, but there’s a gentle breeze that ruffles his hair as you silently sit down next to him. he doesn’t actually acknowledge your presence, but somehow, you know that he knows you’re there. his legs dangle off the side, swinging naturally as he looks out. he’s not in a dangerous position or anything – he’s sitting far enough back that he’s not in danger of falling, but he’s quiet. he’s been a little downcast since being beaten by bede.

“it’s weird, y’know?” he doesn’t look at you as he speaks, and his voice is barely loud enough to hear. “this is all i’ve ever wanted to do, i think. but now that i’m here… i don’t know if this is the right path for me.”

you don’t respond; you just watch his face as he looks down and smiles sadly into his lap.

“i just can’t help thinking that bede was right, sometimes. i probably shouldn’t let it get to me this much but he put the thought into my head and now-“

he cuts himself off, before exhaling and leaning forward.

“maybe i am just putting shame on lee’s name.”

you look out across the water, where the moonlight is casting a silvery glow. you don’t know what to say to him. you’ve never had to deal with something like this, and you haven’t prepared yourself for it. you opt to stay quiet, just offering a presence.

he brings his knees up to his chest and places his chin on top of them.

“i’m sorry. you don’t need to worry about it. it’s not a big deal.”

he doesn’t look at you.

it’s weird seeing hop like this. ever since you were small, hop was always the one to comfort you when you were upset. he was almost untouchable, constantly having a massive grin on his face – even when he broke his wrist whilst playing with a wild wooloo. but here, he was the one who was down. it’s unsettling for you.

“you’re not leon.” you decide to say after a moment of silence.

he raises an eyebrow at you.

you clear your throat. “i mean, there’s no point in trying to live up to leon’s legacy. because you’re not leon,” you pause, thinking of what to say next. you have all the words right there, but you can’t seem to get it out. “so, your defeats aren’t his defeats. your defeats don’t cast shame onto him. your defeats are your own. they’re just training. no one cares if you lost against bede. if you are able to use it as a learning experience, then that’s what matters.”

he furrows his eyebrows as he reflects on your words.

“you don’t need to compare yourself to anyone to have your own value, you know? it’s not like… if you lose a battle then you have less value as a person. if one of your pokémon faint, do you immediately replace them with another? you just… use it as a training experience. look for learning curves, or whatever they’re called.”

he nods slowly but doesn’t seem completely convinced.

“plus, i only beat bede because you taught me about the type advantages.”

the wind has picked up a little more now, blowing slightly colder as you sit together. a quick glance at your watch tells you that it’s half past two in the morning. it doesn’t feel like it’s been that long, but the watch doesn’t lie.

hop watches as you reach into your bag and take out a poké ball. neither of you speak as an umbreon comes out of the ball and curls up in your lap. you stroke its head gently, making sure to keep it close to you so it doesn’t get cold.

after a few minutes of being petted by you, it stands up at jumps out of your lap to go and cuddle up to hop. it seems to like his jacket, and the warm inside of it. he smiles gently at it, and it pushes its head into his hand. hop obliges with the obvious ask for affection and strokes its head as he looks out again.

“he seems to like you.”

“mm.”

hop still doesn’t seem completely convinced from earlier, but there is nothing else you can do now except be there. he seems slightly more relaxed with umbreon tucked in his side.

“even at home, i was constantly compared to lee. i feel kind of bad, actually,” he lets out a quiet dry laugh. “i don’t really miss postwick that much. i don’t miss being at home.”

you let him speak.

“we’d all watch lee’s battles together, even though we already knew he would win. it kind of… took over any other celebrations.”

you remembered that hop had spent his birthday at your house nearly every year since you knew each other.

“at first, it didn’t bother me that much. i was just happy for lee, right? why wouldn’t i be? but then they’d constantly be comparing me to him for everything. i didn’t even want to be a trainer to begin with. i liked watching his battles to see how the pokémon worked against each other, but i guess our parents saw that as me being interested in battling.” he leans backwards, letting the wind blow against his face. “you can’t really blame them. but still, i wish i said something. because now i’m stuck doing something i don’t like doing and i’m not even good at it.”

there’s a pause for a little while as he collects his thoughts. you don’t really have anything you can say to him that won’t sound like pity.

“it’s funny. technically, i started before you and yet you’re so much better than me. you’re looking to take on leon, right?”

you nod carefully.

“good luck, then. i’m sure you’ll do great.” he looks at you, smiling softly. there’s a certain shine in his eyes, but it could easily just be the early morning light reflecting on them. even so, you doubt it is. he turns his gaze back out to the waters and rests his hand on your umbreon’s head. “really. you’d still consider me your rival, even if i don’t make it as far as you, right?” he doesn’t wait for your answer. “kidding, of course. you don’t need to think of me holding you back.”

“i would.”

“what?”

“i’d still consider you my rival.”

he doesn’t look like he believes you. it’s a common theme with him, you’ve noticed. he’d always been dismissive of compliments – before it was genuine modesty, but now it was more like he automatically assumed you were lying. was his fight with bede the straw that broke the camel’s back? or was it earlier than this? you wonder how long you’ve missed it for.

“you don’t have to believe me, but i would. we started this journey together. it doesn’t matter how it ends.”

he doesn’t verbally respond, but hope he understood. it’s been a matter of days since you saw him last, and he’s already changed so much. it almost feels like you’re losing him.

the umbreon purrs against his side, watching with the two of you as the sun rises.

* * *

five years later, hop is the one to reach out to you.

“hey, mate. i heard you were in alola? i’m on akala island, if you’d want to catch up at some point.”

it’s disorientating. he’s developed a slight accent, but it’s not one you’re able to place exactly. it might even be a mix of a couple of regional accents.

“sure. i can meet you in heahea city?”

“sounds like a plan.”

he has a lilt in his voice that sounds like he’s happier than he’s ever been back in the galar region.

you meet up with him not long after the phone call, and you have to do a double take as you see him. not only has he grown his hair out so that he can tie it back in a little low ponytail, but he holds himself completely differently than you remember, and you can’t help but think it has something to do with the alola region. it suits him far better than galar ever did.

“so, champ. how’s life treating you?” he asks as he leads you to the dimensional research lab, where he’s staying for the next month or so. he’s not really working with their department, he explains, but professor sonia managed to pull some strings so that he could stay there whilst learning about the differences in alolan pokémon.

“it’s… busy.” you decide on answering. you don’t tell him about the constant phone calls to come and deal with this ‘rampant’ pokémon or to battle this trainer here or to have an interview there – he probably knows all of it. he nods. “do you like being here? you seem… different.”

hop nods again, smiling a genuine smile. you’ve missed him, you realise as he talks about the culture of alola, and the different types of pokémon, and the different trainers he’s met. he’s seen every type of pokémon here, apparently, but he wants to continue to stay in alola until he’s become more familiar with the culture and until he’s had a proper interaction with the guardians. he describes his meeting with tapu koko in extreme detail, not worrying about whether he’s taking up too much of your time.

he challenges you to a pokémon battle, just for old times’ sake.

just as you’re about to start, your phone rings with a call from marnie. a new, unidentified species of pokémon has just shown up in spikemuth city. marnie has sent a photo – one that’s slightly blurry, as if the pokémon was moving as they took the picture. you don’t recognise the pokémon, and hop seems to understand that it’s important. you ask him if he wants to come along to check it out, but he shifts from side to side as he refuses. he "still has more to do in alola".

you want him to come back home, but it’s his decision.

~~it's not home for him anymore~~

he says no.


End file.
